Gains were capped, however, by expectations that the US-China trade row will escalate again after Beijing said it planned to impose anti-dumping sanctions worth billions of Dollars on Washington.

"Stocks have ticked up although traders remain nervous about the state of global trading relations," said market analyst David Madden at CMC MarketsUK.

"China have been making life tricky for the US, and now the ball is in President Trump's court. Dealers know full well what sort of reaction we could see from Mr Trump, and some are in wait and see mode," he added.

Analyst Craig Erlam at Oanda said the lull is likely to be just temporary.

UrduPoint Network is the largest independent online media house from Pakistan, catering the needs of its users since year 1997. We provide breaking news, Pakistani news, International news, Business news, Sports news, Urdu news and Live Urdu News